China turns to US for corn purchase amid uncertainty on Ukrainian supply

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – China has just purchased 1.084 million tonnes of US corn, in an apparent effort to make up for the loss of any shipments it purchased from Ukraine prior to the ongoing Russian invasion of that country, Reuters reports.

Ukraine is the world’s fourth-largest supplier of corn, but its current war with Russia has rendered its ability to meet current global demands for the grain highly uncertain.

Ukraine has been a major supplier of corn to China: the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service in Beijing reported that Chinese buyers had recently purchased 600,000 tons of Ukrainian corn, with expected delivery in the first quarter of 2022, AgriPulse reports. It is not known how much of the delivery was made.

Apparently turning to the US to help make up for any shortfall, China made a deal for 676,000 tonnes of corn to be delivered by August 31 and for 408,000 tonnes to be delivered in 2022/23, Reuters reports.

In a statement to AgriPulse, U Grains Council President and CEO Ryan LeGrand said: “We are very pleased to see continued demand by China for U.S. corn. Today’s purchase brings them close to 13 (million metric tons) of known purchases for the current crop year and secures additional supplies for 2022-23.”

“The US is in a great position to continue supplying China’s robust demand for corn,” LeGrand added.

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